Washington gets KO for 1st win

Tim Washington of Toledo pummels Alen Basic during their fight at the Grand Plaza Hotel on Friday night.

Tim Washington towered over his opponent, Alen Basic, when the two stood in front of each other just before they started to exchange punches in a four-round professional heavyweight fight Friday night at the Grand Plaza Hotel.

Washington, a Toledo native who stands 6-foot-5 and weighs 270 pounds, looked that much larger than Basic, of Lansing, Mich., when he delivered some knee-buckling body shots that led to a third-round knockout.

With former heavyweight champion James "Buster" Douglas working in his corner for the first time, the 32-year-old Washington (1-2, 1 KO) earned his first pro win. The referee stopped the fight at 2:20 of the third round after Basic (0-1) dropped to the canvas for the third time to give Washington the technical knockout.

"That's the way to go, and I try to do that every time," Washington said.

He impressed Douglas with his glove work.

"For his first fight with us, I thought he did well," Douglas said. "I saw a lot of good things and some bad things, but the bad things can be corrected."

Washington's bout was one of six featuring local pro fighters that took place before approximately a thousand fans in a ballroom at the downtown hotel.

In the main event, Wauseon middleweight Masedonio Molina (7-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Monroe's Wade Tolle, Jr., (5-1, 4 KOs) at the 2:59 mark in the second round.

Molina, making his pro debut, gained control of the fight during the second round when he connected on a combination of punches to the midsection that seemed to hurt Kelly, who was able to gather himself and survive the round.

However, Kelly (0-5) lost a unanimous decision.

"There was great energy from the crowd," said Molina, who had a few dozen family members and friends on hand. "For me, fighting in my pro debut, I had a lot of nerves for the first three rounds, and it kind of wore me down."

Yet, Molina was clearly the aggressor throughout to earn the judges' favor.

"I was able to dig deep," Molina said.

Toledoan Adrian Wilson (2-1, 2 KOs) faced George Martin (1-2) of Ypsilanti and earned the decision in a super welterweight fight. Wilson established control when he connected with a headshot in the second round that dropped Martin, who picked himself up off the canvas and went on to finish the fight.

Toledoan Micah Branch took on Rafael Gramaho in a four-round featherweight match to begin the fight card. Gramaho (1-1-1, 1 KO) and Branch (1-3-1) exchanged their share of blows. The judges thought the opening bout was too close to call, and it ended with a majority draw decision. The judges' scores were 38 -38, 39-37, 38-38.

Jordan Shimmel (7-0, 6 KOs) of Grand Rapids, Mich., went six rounds to earn a unanimous decision over Montana's Lance Gauch (3-6-1) in a heavyweight fight.

Toledoan and 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing team member Devin Vargas was listed on the fight card for a heavyweight bout against Daniel Martz. However, Vargas suffered a broken right hand while sparring with Washington earlier in the week.

Vargas' father, Ray, said X-rays revealed two fractures in Devin's right hand.